The Aughacashel School

The Aughacashel school was built in 1904. There was a junior room and a senior room and a fuel compartment. There were 95 pupils in the school at first. But then it was reduced to a lower number. My great great grandfather John Shannon Lee was the principal. His wife Margaret Lee taught there too. It was one of six schools in the parish. My granny Marie Lee was one of the last teachers to teach in the school.

Kesh National School

The old schoolhouse was built in the 19th century and has held it's old world charm. It has been specially refurbished to accommodate those who enjoy painting. It has a well equipped studio which can be used freely by guests.

Memories of a student

I walked to school every morning. I was caretaker and got 50p a week for lighting the fire each morning. The most enjoyable experience was when Santa visited the school each Christmas. He would arrive and we would hear the noise of the helicopter outside. This would get us very excited. Each time he visited, he brought a gift with him for everyone. One year I got a toy gun and caps. Our teacher Mrs. Mc Manus arranged all this. She also brought us by car, to see Confirmation in Drumshanbo and treated us to icecream afterwards. This was a great treat. We had a Christmas party each year and the head master would bring in a box of sweets called Colleen Oatfield. We would look forward to this party.

Keshcarrigan Vocational School

The parish of Kiltubrid was very poor in the 1930's. The six national schools in the parish provided a good level of education, but secondary education was a luxury, that few could afford. Schooling finished for most at the age of thirteen. There was little work at home so many had no option but to emigrate to England or the U.S.A. Due largely to the efforts of Fr. John Kieran and Mr, Michael Carter, it was agreed that a vocational school be built in Keshcarrigan. It was built of stone extracted from the quarry outside the village. The first pupils enrolled on Tuesday morning, October 1st, 1935. The Vocational school was the first in Leitrim and served a large area. It was more than a school. It served as a centre for all social, cultural and educational activities in the area. The school building itself served as a theatre, cinema, debating and dance hall. All the local organisations held their meetings there and many night classes were conducted there. By the mid 1960's, emigration had taken its toll. Other well-equipped post primary schools were springing up in all the towns around and school buses were ferrying pupils into them from the surrounding areas. The school continued on until June 1969, the first and only year that students did the Intermediate Certificate there. Its closing marked the end of an era.

Crummy National School

Crummy school was built in May 1843 with one room measuring 27 feet by 13 feet. The children on the rolls amounted to150. The building had a mud wall, a thatched roof and small windows. In the year 1893 the old Crummy School was condemned. Records show that in June 1884, a grant for £224 was given for building a new national school in Crummy. The total cost was £336. The building was to have room for 120 pupils. John Mc Weeney, a stonemason from Crummy, built the school.

When the building was completed, a lease was made to the Trustees for 99 years. The trustees at that time were Rev. Dr. Woodlock, Bishop of Ardagh, Rev. Hugh Brennan, P.P of Drumcong, Rev. Bernard Geraghty, Drumcong. The new school was opened on August the 12th 1885. Master William Duignan transferred to the post of principal teacher and Mrs. Brigid Mulvey was employed as a work mistress, a teacher of needlework and knitting. Master Duignan taught in Crummy for 3 years. From 1963-1973, many schools were either closed or amalgamated. Crummy was one such school. The remaining 15 pupils were transferred to Keshcarrigan. Some people had to travel long distances to get to school. They came through any kind of weather, hail, sleet or snow. Just before school started, a fire was lit. This could take anything from a few minutes to an hour and it could take hours to get heat from it. Pupils, teachers and neighbours all pitched in with the supply of fuel. At some schools the toilets were outside. The parish priest bought and renovated the Old Crummy School. The building looks beautiful with a lovely garden surrounding it.

Memories of a past pupil

I went to Crummy school in 1935. It was a long building. The young children were in one end of the school and were taught by Mrs. Honor Flynn and the older classes were in the other end and Master Pauric Rodohan taught them. The school was in a very bad state and full of rats and mice chasing up and down through the broken floorboards.

Liscarbin National School

Liscarbin national school was opened in1889 and closed in 1978 after 89 years. Prior to1889, there were two schools were in the Liscarbin area, a boys school in Liscarbin and a girls school in Mohercregg. In the early days in Liscarbin, as in all other schools, turf had to be brought to school each day in the winter.The school was raided by the black and tans. They came on bicycles and broke down the door frames and left all the children frightened. They were looking for Tom Doherty but it was a few days after that that they arrested him and took him to Boyle jail. Paddy Geelan, a local carpenter, was given the job of repairing the doors. In 1936, the school was repaired. Children then often stayed at school until they were sixteen years old. Then emigration began. This decreased during the 1939-45 war but resumed as a flood in the late 50's. Whole families left, people did not marry and schools began to close. The Department of education decided in the 1960's to amalgamate schools, to build big central schools and to provide transport to these schools. During the decade 1963 to 1973, the number of primary schools dropped from 113 to 70, i.e. 43 schools were amalgamated or closed. Since 1973, further closures have occurred resulting in the establishment of central primary school at Drumkeerin, Cornagee, Drumshanbo and Kiltubrid. By 1971, there were signs of a new prosperity, but it wasn't until later in the 70's that this prosperity affected Kiltubrid. With free education and free school transport, there was a new primary school built in Drumcong, which brought to an end a memorable era of education in Liscarbin. Unlike a lot of other schools at that time, Liscarbin was turned into a social centre by a number of people from the surrounding area. Of the people who undertook the renovation of the school, some have passed away. Others have moved further afield but today the school stands as a monument to their hard work and achievement.

Kilclare N.S (1894-1972).

Kilclare N.S a two-teacher school, opened in 1894. It was situated on the main Carrick-on-Shannon - Ballinamore road, close to the handball alley and the canal. The highest roll number recorded was twenty-nine children. Mrs Hopkins R.I.P. was one of the well-known teachers. She lived in Carrick-on-Shannon. Miss Casey of Kilclare was another teacher. Mrs Fitzpatrick was the last teacher to teach there before it closed down in June 1972. The children from that area then went on to Leitrim N.S. Kilclare N.S is unoccupied and in bad repair today.

Rossy School (1868-1967)

Rossy National School opened in 1868 with seventeen pupils on roll, all were Catholic. It is situtated between Annadale and Castlefore about one mile from Kiltubrid G.A.A football pitch. Master Boyle and Mrs Boyle taught there in the mid nineteen hundreds. Master Fitzpatrick from Mohill taught there too. Miss Flaherty was in the school when it closed. When it closed, the pupils went to Drumany or Keshcarrigan. It closed in 1967 with 20 pupils on roll.. Rossy National School is in very poor condition but still standing.

When Drumcong was opened in 1978, it was designed as a central school to replace the six primary schools in the parish.